The Cursed King

Loriel checked on the recipe on the internet just to double-check them for one last time. While he appreciated the instructions, Loriel usually ended up using ingredients that he thought matched the dish more if necessary.

"Is there anything I can do to help with the preparation?" Elise asked.

Loriel glanced back at his wife and smiled. "Thank you for the thought, but I'd like to handle this fine on my own. Haven't I told you earlier that I'd impress you with my cooking skills when we chatted at the cafe, Elise?"

Elise brushed back some of her hair. "Well there's that, but your friend is coming over. Besides, I don't want to just sit down while you're standing around and cooking."

Elise also had her own stubborn nature.

"Alright, I'd like you to gather some things from the fridge and shelves then, Elise. Olive oil, some unsalted butter, and a small onion and heat it up in a large saucepan. I'll go get the rice and fish stock."

"Okay, I'll do that." Elise quickly moved around to do it. Loriel turned on the stove and put the pan on it.

"We can start with low heat," he explained.

"Low heat?" Elise repeated his words.

"Yes, low heat. It means we will cook it with small fire. Just five minutes of your time, a little saute till the butter melts, onion is tender then you can turn it off. I'll add the rice right after that."

It was a small task that  his wife would be comfortable doing. Elise would be happy that she contributed to the cooking process, and Loriel didn't have to worry she would tire herself.

While she did her tasks, Loriel on the other hand would do his best to prepare both meals at the same time. The veal would take about two hours in the pot, but the prep work for it was just fifteen minute tops.

He gathered the essential ingredients for both the risotto and veal and then started his cooking duties. Loriel then prepared the bouquet garni for the veal by placing rosemary, thyme, bay leaf and cloves into cheesecloth and then securing it with twine. 

Loriel then took out the veal shanks, removed the excess moisture and then secured the meat to the bone with some twine.

"Is this also for the risotto?" Elise asked.

"Ah, this is for the Veal Osso Buco where you'll get to enjoy the bone marrow. That's why I'm tying it properly. Osso Buco translates to "bone with a hole" in Italian."

He wanted to impress her with his Italian, but alas, she wouldn't understand what he was talking about. Maybe he should take her to eat at an Italian restaurant next time and spoke to the waiters in his perfect Italian.

They would understand his words and Elise would be impressed.

"I see…" Elise eyed the meat. She then returned to watching over her own saucepan.

While she did that, Loriel finished seasoning the meat and then prepared the pot. As it would take two hours to cook, he focused on the veal first before he finally moved on to the risotto.

Loriel grabbed one and a half cups of Vialone Nano rice as he picked out a bottle of white wine and then finally got some of the fish stock.

The next thing he did was actually get the main ingredients of the dish. He went over to the fridge and grabbed some mussels, scallops, and squid. 

Most of them were prepared beforehand and were just ready to pour into the dish.

Loriel then went for the vegetables and herbs, tomatoes, fresh parsley, and then salt and black pepper for flavoring.

Once he was done, Loriel took his place beside Elise and placed another saucepan for the fish stock, and warmed it up. 

"I'm done with the butter and onion."

"Perfect, thank you for the help, Elise." Loriel poured in the rice and then took over the saucepan. He began to toast it slightly as he glanced back at Elise.

Elise was watching him cook with great interest. There was something really sexy about a man who could cook, and the sight of Loriel with an apron, despite his manly appearance was so lovely to see.

Loriel smiled and poured himself half a cup of the white wine and tossed it into a saucepan and then added the warmed fish stock. He lowered the fire to a simmer and occasionally stirred the pan and soon added in the rest of the ingredients after a while.

*** 

Meanwhile, in his beautiful mansion in Magnolia Drive, Marc Sanderman thought that his grand-uncle's requests were already completed. He finally ended the weekend meeting with his people and went home to wind down. 

So, he played the music and enjoyed a nice glass of expensive wine while musing over the new venture that his company would soon handle. A virtual reality technology that would give people the opportunity to learn about history, the past, and whatnot.

It was something that he was so excited about, and that's why he forced his executives to work hard on this. After working so hard all week, he thought he deserved his rest. 

He really didn't expect Loriel's requests were far from done. After all, he already did a lot in the span of two days which wasn't common for his uncle's requests to go this far. 

He'd like to think that his accomplishments were satisfying. Marc figured out who Madeleine York was and even paid private investigators to learn more about her family background.

He thought it was all done.

Marc even wanted to pat Alex's back on doing everything and completing her tasks successfully, but then Loriel sent him another text.

[Come visit me at my penthouse for dinner and meet the woman who you'll be employing.]

[Me? I am not hiring…] Marc replied with furrowed brows. His uncle became more and more mysterious.

[Yes, you are. You are in need of a new assistant.]

[Huh?]